Cardiology Articles

Race For Life

Come along and watch a race with me. Set a goal, follow the course, and you achieve your dream. Sounds easy, doesn't it? But the distractions loom large, though in reality they might be ever so small. And if a few of life's distractions enter the picture, the outcome may disappoint you.

Over a number of years, I gained five pounds here and another five pounds there; all of it seemed to settle between my waist and my knees. Part of getting older, I told myself. I could lose this weight, I told myself. I did exactly that … many times. Whenever I quit dieting, back it came, along with a few more pounds. I finally hit on the perfect rationalization. The only way to keep this weight off is to diet for the rest of my life, and I'm not willing to do that – perfect reasoning for someone who loves to eat and enjoys cooking and baking. My goal was too tough to achieve. I dismissed it with a shrug, and continued eating the good things I created.

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How's Your Blood Pressure?

I've just received a card from Dr. Sam reminding me that I'm due for my annual physical. I haven't been feeling that great lately. Just a little headache, now and then. Maybe I'll get my eyes checked, too. Then there is a slight buzzing in my ears. Probably left over from the flu. Maybe I need vitamins.

Dr. Sam does his usual song-and-dance routine and takes my blood pressure. "Hmmm," he says.

"How high is your blood pressure normally?"

"It's usually normal. Why, is anything wrong?" I feel panic.

"You'll have to take off 10 pounds. How much do you smoke? I'm sending you for a stress test and …." And I don't hear the rest of it.

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Trivia: Heart Disease & Stroke Stats in the US and Canada

The American Heart Association's Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics - 2007 report:

• An estimated 79.4 million American adults (one in three) have one or more types of cardiovascular disease (CVD), of whom 37.5 million are estimated to be 65 or older.

• Specific estimates include (remember that some individuals have more than one type of CVD):
- 72 million have high blood pressure (33 million males and 39 million females),
- 15.8 million have coronary heart disease (7.9 million MI and 8.9 million angina), including 8.5 million males and 7.2 million females.

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